Canadian Forest Service Publications
An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides. Part 2: impacts on organisms and ecosystems. 2017. Pisa, L.; Goulson, D.; Yang, E.; Gibbons, D.; Sánchez-Bayo, F.; Mitchell, E.; Aebi, A.; van der Sluijs, J.; MacQuarrie, C.J.K.; Giorio, C.; Yim Long, E.; McField, M.; Bijleveld van Lexmond, M.; Bonmatin, J-M. Environmental Science and Pollution Research: 1-49.
Year: 2017
Issued by: Great Lakes Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 39043
Language: English
Availability: PDF (download)
Available from the Journal's Web site. †
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-0341-3
† This site may require a fee
Abstract
New information on the lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoids and fipronil on organisms is presented in this review, complementing the previous Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) in 2015. The high toxicity of these systemic insecticides to invertebrates has been confirmed and expanded to include more species and compounds. Most of the recent research has focused on bees and the sublethal and ecological impacts these insecticides have on pollinators. Toxic effects on other invertebrate taxa also covered predatory and parasitoid natural enemies and aquatic arthropods. Little new information has been gathered on soil organisms. The impact on marine and coastal ecosystems is still largely uncharted. The chronic lethality of neonicotinoids to insects and crustaceans, and the strengthened evidence that these chemicals also impair the immune system and reproduction, highlights the dangers of this particular insecticidal class (neonicotinoids and fipronil), with the potential to greatly decrease populations of arthropods in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Sublethal effects on fish, reptiles, frogs, birds, and mammals are also reported, showing a better understanding of the mechanisms of toxicity of these insecticides in vertebrates and their deleterious impacts on growth, reproduction,
Plain Language Summary
This paper updates a previous review and assessment of research on the impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on plants, animals and ecosystems. It summarizes and reviews all research done on this topic since 2015. The conclusions of this paper reinforce those of the earlier assessment, which were that neonicotinoid insecticides have significant impacts on insects, particularly bees and other pollinators, as well as lethal and sub-lethal effects on other organisms. Neonicotinoid insecticides are an important class of insecticides in wide use throughout the world. This paper is an important contribution towards understanding their impacts.
